Clutch City Passive Makes History as First Phius Certified Passive Project in Houston

Nonprofit Organization Phius Leads the Industry in Climate-Adaptive Building for a Greener Tomorrow

CHICAGO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Last month, Clutch City Passive made history as Houston's first Phius-certified passive project, representing a fortified commitment to climate change mitigation in the built environment. In regions like the Southwest, Phius' climate-specific standards are the industry model for efficiency and sustainability. Uniquely designed with the grid in mind, they provide necessary energy independence and significantly less strain than traditional buildings.

Clutch City Passive, featuring two shared-wall townhouses, is certified by Phius, showing Houston a path towards a more resilient and adaptable built environment. This spec-built project is fourteen times more airtight than building code, with twice the required insulation, an integrated rain screen system to reduce chances of water entrance, and high-efficiency European-style tilt/turn windows. Additionally, the property's air conditioning, hot water, and clothes drying are all provided by high-efficiency heat pumps, and it has a green roof that adds both beauty and stormwater retention.

The Phius Standard is the only standard customized to fit Clutch City Passive's unique Houston climate, making it the leading standard for energy-efficient construction, no matter the environment. This distinction, alongside its customized certification plans, not only differentiates Phius from other passive building standards but also prevents issues like over-insulation and the unnecessary use of triple-pane windows.

In Houston's '2A?Hot?Humid' ASHRAE climate zone, Phius standards provide a cost-effective path to reducing energy loads?the best foundation for zero-energy buildings. Phius Certified projects are designed and built for resilience, habitability, and passive survivability during power outages, extreme storms, fires, and other climate-driven events. They operate without reliance on strained power grids. Clutch City Passive is an example in the Southwest for the built environment to follow, showcasing innovative solutions to climate change effects.

Images are HERE - Credit to TK Images.

About Phius

Phius is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard. We train and certify professionals, maintain and update the Phius climate-specific passive building standard, certify and quality assure passive buildings, certify high-performance building products, and research to advance high-performance building.

Media Contact

Jennifer Ritchie, Phius, 1 2063548044, [email protected], www.phius.com

SOURCE Phius